Of Ransoms, Partners, and Aftershock
by V. Emily
Summary: When a bust ends in Deeks's capture, will Kensi stay within NCIS's rules to get him back, or will she take matters into her own hands? Will Deeks survive her decision?
1. Chapter 1

The Ops center was buzzing with Monday morning activity when Marty Deeks walked into the building, warm styrofoam coffee cup in one hand. It wasn't his favorite coffee; that came from Frank's convenience store, and since Deeks's shooting, he hadn't dared fall into his old routine. Still, something could be said for change: in his other hand he held a brown paper bag from a new bakery, with a fresh and heavenly chocolate muffin inside of it. The coffee might be one-star-motel rate, but the muffins were definitely better than the cheap fare he was used to at Frank's - however friendly the shop owner was to him.

As he approached the familiar bullpen, Deeks hung back. As usual, Callen, Sam, and Kensi had arrived long before him, and were engaged in some friendly debate. Deeks listened in for a moment, trying to discern what is was they were arguing about, and how he might play into it.

"_Might as well see what I'm getting myself into,"_ he thought to himself with a small smile. In an odd way, he liked how the team all got along like one large, bickering family.

"Because frozen yogurt is a health-nut thing, that's why!"

Callen and Sam exchanged glances. The former countered with, "But it tastes good. The healthiness is just a plus, in my opinion."

"Why? Do you eat frozen yogurt, Callen?" Kensi shot back, a challenge in her eyes. She loved this part of the mornings, that much was obvious.

Callen admitted, "No. But I know good people who do - and they're not all health-nuts."

"Think hard, Callen."

Callen paused for a long moment, chewing the inside of his cheek in thought. Finally he sighed and said, "Alright. Fair enough."

Kensi smirked, glad to have won. Deeks sipped his coffee and advanced the rest of the way to the team's workspace, thinking of a good opening joke. This sort of thing came as easily to him as begging came to Monty, or mysteriousness to Hetty.

"What kind of nuts? Pistachios are my favorite."

Kensi groaned at the cheesy line, just as Deeks had hoped she would. Gosh, he loved this job.

Kensi had a good opening in mind, too, right on cue - "You're late again, Deeks. Practicing violin this morning?"

"_Dangit,"_ he thought. _"I should never have told her that."_ Blackmail - one of Kensi's favorite ways to get back at her partner.

And once again, right on cue: Callen and Sam, interested as usual in Deeks's most recently-discovered quirk.

"We didn't know you played violin, Deeks," Callen appeared to be enjoying this way too much.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Sam asked, pretending to be serious, but that smug smile gave him away. Deeks hated it when they had him cornered like this.

"Because," the detective-liaison answered. "I haven't played in like, fifteen years."

"Probably after his neighbors begged him to stop," Kensi teased.

"No way," Deeks argued as he took his chocolate muffin from its bag. "You should know, I was GREAT at violin."

"Oh, really?" Kensi drew out the last word in her you're-really-going-to-regret-saying-that tone. "I bet your old co-workers at LAPD would be very interested to know that. Or Bates. Or whatever girlfriend you happen to have at the moment."

Deeks sighed in resignation. He knew the drill. "What do I have to do?" he asked.

"Well," Kensi looked at him thoughtfully, deciding her price. "That chocolate muffin looks good."

Deeks took one last longing look at his breakfast item, then tossed it Kensi's way. She caught it like an umpire might catch a baseball, and took a bite out of it.

"Nice taste in muffins, Deeks," she commented, then took another slow, large, taunting mouthful of the pastry.

"You're evil, woman," Deeks mumbled, but he was trying to hide a grin. He's never tell her that he'd bought two muffins, with one concealed in his messenger bag for when she wasn't looking. One had to be prepared when one had a partner who ate like she lived in Willy Wonka's candy factory.

Just then, a shrill whistle rang out from the top of the staircase. The four turned to face Los Angeles's favorite shorts-wearing techie, who called, "Case is up, everyone!"

"Let's go, muffin marauder," Deeks said, gesturing for Kensi to walk ahead of him. Instead, his partner elbowed him friendlily.

"Wherever that other muffin is, I'll find it."

Deeks moaned. Kensi was always one step ahead of him.

He couldn't have known that that afternoon, when it really mattered, she wouldn't be.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey, guys! I forgot to put author's notes at the beginning of the first chapter, so here we go: This is my first fan-fiction, so I'm kind of getting used to the flow of things (such as, obviously, the addition of author's notes). I'm pretty confident, however, in my grammar and spelling, so you hopefully won't see errors there. I really do appreciate reviews! Thank you all so much (and I'll try to update as often as I can)!**

**Disclaimer that should have also been in the first chapter: I don't own NCIS: Los Angeles or any of its characters! That'd be amazing, though... **

**Without further ado, the next chapter in the story:**

It was only supposed to be another mission - minimally-dangerous drug dealers who had been pinned by NCIS as the murderers of a Naval officer who had seen too much. And for three-quarters of the time, it WAS just another mission.

"We're clear down here," Kensi confirmed into her radio as quietly as she could. "They must be holed up on the floor above us."

"We're headed your way," responded Callen. "You guys start up the stairs - but go with caution. This group might not be noted for many murders, but that doesn't make them any less dangerous."

"We know," Deeks said. "Kensi, let's go."

Kensi nodded and, sticking close to the walls, made their way to the stairwell. Kensi went in first, silently pushing down on the handle and pushing the door open. They winced as their first few footsteps echoed in the stone stairwell; from there, they walked softer. Deeks pulled ahead of her, stopping often to peer up at the rest of the staircases. He'd motion for Kensi to wait, then, when he saw nobody, nodded, and they would again proceed. In a couple of minutes, they reached the door to the next floor.

"I'll go in first," Deeks whispered.

"You sure?" Kensi asked, but she knew what the answer was. It always felt wrong not to ask, even it changed nothing.

"Of course," Deeks flashed a grin, then pulled the handle of the metal door and slipped into the second-floor hallway of the abandoned hotel building. Kensi followed closely.

Suddenly, their radios crackled, making both agents startle.

"Kensi, Deeks," Callen hissed into the radio. "What's your location?"

"Second floor," Kensi whispered. "And you guys?"

"Still on the first," Callen replied. "But Eric's got feed on a traffic cam outside - four of our drug dealers just climbed out the second-floor windows by rope. Kensi, we need you down here. Take the alley around the bakery next door and cut off their access to their van. Deeks, don't let those others get away!"

"Got it," Kensi left the same way they had just come without hesitating.

"Eric, what window did the dealers come out of?" Deeks asked into his wig.

The techie's reply rang clear, "It looks like the third window from your far left."

Without another word, Deeks broke into a run and counted the doors, pausing a beat at the one marked "632" in faded bronze numbers, left over from the building's hotel days. Hands on his gun, he took a deep breath and kicked the door open.

He didn't remember anything after that.

Kensi, meanwhile, flew down the hard stairs two at a time. She exited the first floor by a side door and wasted no time in running from the building's dusty parking lot to the side alley that she and Deeks had spotted on their drive over. Dodging hefty bags of rotting garbage and two hungry rats, she maneuvered her way to the street, the dealers' unmarked van coming into view. She heard shouts from down the street to her left - Callen's, Sam's, and those of at least four others.

Drawing her gun, Kensi burst onto the sidewalk and came to an abrupt halt at the rear of the escape van. There was no driver inside, just as they had scouted before they had entered the abandoned hotel. Kensi braced herself as four husky, ill-dressed men charged up the street, Callen and Sam in hot pursuit.

Seeing Kensi (more specifically, seeing Kensi's gun), the dealers slowed in dismay. Kensi thought they were going to surrender, thought that her fellow agents would catch them before they even got to her, but at the last minute, the criminals dodged into the street and made a wide semicircle around Kensi.

She whipped around and began to run after them, aiming her gun, but her heart sank: a street fair up ahead. How had she forgotten? It'd be impossible to hit the dealers with so many pedestrians at risk of being shot as well if she missed. Sam and Callen caught up with the junior agent.

"It'll be tougher to catch them now," noted Callen. "Kensi, go back and help Deeks with the rest of them. Has he contacted you yet?"

With a start, Kensi realized, "No...he hasn't," and without further delay, she turned around and ran even faster back to the hotel.

"Deeks, this is Kensi," she panted into her wig. "Deeks, come in."

Nothing. Not even a little static. Kensi felt dread come on suddenly and heavily.

"Deeks," she called his name into her radio over and over. "Deeks!"

"Oh, gosh," Kensi felt her eyes start to water, but she tried to calm herself. "Stop that," she chastised. "This isn't a time to be a weepy little girl. You've got to do your job and go help him."

Kensi became aware of the piercing sound of squealing tires and flinched. It was down next to fingers on a chalk board on her list of favorite sounds, but that wasn't what mattered. Who was driving so recklessly? She squinted ahead, and choked on a lump in her throat when she saw a second, almost identical unmarked van driving in the same direction as Kensi was running. It was too far ahead for her to possibly reach.

"_So the first van was probably just a distraction,"_ she thought with dismay. _"But how are they getting away if Deeks was supposed to-_Deeks!" she yelled his name out loud, pushing herself to go faster than she ever thought she could go. Still the hotel approached too slow - but right now, all the speed in the world wouldn't have been enough to satisfy her. Her partner needed her. She wouldn't be the one to let him down, she swore to herself.

When Kensi shoved open the front door to the musty hotel lobby, no drug dealers were in sight.

"Kensi, what's your status?" Callen asked into the radio.

"I'm in the lobby," Kensi informed him. "A second van just drove down due south. There's no sign so far of the other dealers. And you guys?"

"We caught the four that we were chasing," Sam said. "We're turning them in. Kensi, find Deeks - but go carefully, you hear me? Even if you saw the van, one or two might have lagged behind."

Kensi took a nervous breath. Nervous? She couldn't be nervous! She'd been doing this for years! ...But Deeks was involved this time. He might really be gone. She couldn't shake the pictures they'd been shown of the executed Navy officer that these drug dealers had killed. Hands tied, feet bound, mouth gagged...and a bullet through the center of his forehead. His eyes had been open, still in shock. Kensi wouldn't allow herself to imagine Deeks in that same state.

She went straight to the second floor, even though she knew she should've checked the first floor before doing that. Kensi couldn't help it. It made sense to her that Deeks, if still in the building, would be in that room, three doors from the left.

She felt that she couldn't get there fast enough, and ignored the pain in her legs and lungs. Kensi told herself that the pain of losing her partner wouldn't even compare, if she let it come to that. She sprinted up those flights of stairs like the Wonder Woman that Deeks had once claimed she was. Biting her lower lip and hoping with her whole heart, Kensi flew down the hallway, dust rising from the cheap, antique carpeting as she did so. She'd made so much noise in her ascent to the top floor that she knew the element of surprise had been lost to her long ago. For this reason, Kensi didn't pause at all before entering room 632.

She had never felt so disappointed in herself like this. The room was empty.

It was obvious that the dealers had been there in recent minutes. Their escape rope still hung out the open window. Old, plastic-covered furniture was cracked and strewn about the room. Signs of a fight were everywhere. The bodies of two dealers lay motionless on the floor. But what Kensi's eyes rested on what a small, all-too-familiar black object. She placed her hand on the thick material and picked it up. At first sight, it appeared to be a wallet. She opened it, and her eyes clouded over with tears.

But they weren't cloudy enough for her to deny that this was Deeks's badge.

A smear of fresh blood across his ID photo told her all she needed to know.

Wonder Woman though she might be, Kensi didn't have the super speed to save her partner.


	3. Chapter 3

**Note: I'm really glad you guys are liking it so far! I do appreciate your reviews and hope to be giving this story daily updates. I've been working ahead a bit on the story, but I'd like to get some thoughts on each chapter before I post the next, just to see how I'm doing with this fan-fiction thing. Anyways, here it is, and I hope you enjoy:**

Kensi sat in the bullpen, trying not to look at his desk. She fidgeted with her sleeves, not something the confident agent was used to doing. Callen and Sam were talking seriously outside of the workspace, but she didn't have the heart to join them. She knew they had no word on the location of her partner.

Nell was called away to the forensics lab for a moment, and the two male agents stepped back into the bullpen, glancing anxiously at Kensi. Neither of them could think of what to say - there was nothing _to_ say. Deeks was her partner. Nothing could comfort her now or take him off her mind.

"We're working on it," Sam assured her, breaking the silence.

Kensi found that when she talked, her throat constricted and she almost burst into tears, as often happens when you try to speak after holding back sobs.

"I know," she murmured. "But it's been two hours, and we haven't found them."

Eric had located the dealers' fast-moving van in just minutes with Kaleidoscope, but it had mysteriously dropped off the radar. None of the dealers appeared to be carrying cell phones, either. No trace at all. Bulletins had been put out; no replies had come in. Kensi wanted to hole up in a dark room, let this all blow over, let them find him and then let Deeks come get her. She thought it was odd that she felt like that. When Dom had gone missing, she hadn't wanted to mope, she had wanted to find him. But when she thought about finding Deeks, she thought just as much about what would happen if she _didn't_ find him. And that made her stop short, made her want to hide. That couldn't happen to Deeks. She just had to tell herself to keep moving forward, to help as much as she could. It would take all the strength Kensi had.

"Kensi, why don't you go run to the cafe across the street and get some coffee," Callen suggested. "Get some air."

"But-" Kensi began to protest, looking up, and letting her gaze fall onto Deeks's empty desk. She felt her eyes water again. So she got up, nodded almost imperceptibly, and walked out of the building.

The line at the cafe was long. People who had just gotten off of work were stopping for small dinners, lattes, and bread to bring home. The minutes ticked by slowly, but Kensi was glad for the chance to get out of her work building. Still, Deeks lingered in her thoughts. Had he worried this much when she'd been kidnapped?

About fifteen or twenty minutes later, Kensi approached the counter and ordered a large coffee. The cashier there knew her as working in the building across the street. As she rang up the order, she asked Kensi, "Hey, I think I know you. Aren't you always with the blond guy?"

Kensi closed her eyes and took a deep breath to deep herself from breaking down in public. "Yeah," she responded quietly. "That's him."

"Bad breakup?" the cashier guessed knowingly, handing Kensi her coffee. "Guys are so stupid sometimes."

Kensi resented the cashier's comment. "Actually, no," she snapped. "We're looking for him."

She knew she probably shouldn't be revealing things like that in public, but something inside her had wanted to. Kensi hated the idea of people thinking of Deeks at such a low level. Sure, he might be the breaker in relationships, and probably lots of girls had felt the way that the cashier had guessed. But this was the Deeks that was Kensi's partner. She missed him. She worried for him. And right now, she was not going to tolerate the nosy people that made rude assumptions about him.

If Deeks were here, he'd laugh at her intolerance. "Careful," he'd joke. "Mount Fern is erupting." She'd punch him in the arm and they'd carry on. Somehow, his annoyingly juvenile comment would've calmed her, or at least distracted her from whatever she was furious about. So Kensi sucked in a generous amount of air and turned away from the cashier, letting no other information slip before she left the cafe. She threw away the coffee outside of the NCIS building. She didn't want it anymore.

Nell sought Kensi out almost as soon as she came back. Her face was grim.

"Did they find anything?" Kensi asked.

"It's only been twenty minutes," Nell told her, surprised. "But forensics finished their tests on the badge you found. ...It was Deeks's blood."

Kensi squeezed her eyes shut and sighed. "Is Eric still trying Kaleidoscope?" she asked.

"Yeah," Nell confirmed. "It's all right, Kensi; we'll find him. Here, forensics said they don't need this anymore."

Nell handed the badge to Kensi, who couldn't bear to open it and look at his photo there. She only thanked Nell and wandered off again.

That night, Kensi fell asleep on the couch in the bullpen. She even smiled a little as she remembered how Deeks had used an antique tapestry as a blanket when he had slept in this same spot. She used a regular blanket instead. It took her a long time to fall into slumber, what with her worries nagging at her. But eventually, imagining the moment that they would rescue Deeks and reunite him with the team - and they _had_ to do that, no if's, and's, or but's - she relaxed and fell asleep.

At two in the morning, Kensi awoke from a horrible dream where she had attended Deeks's funeral. Slowly she realized that she was in the bullpen. Nobody had dared wake her to send her home. Being alone, she finally let herself cry. Kensi could almost hear his voice in her head, joking about her sobbing. She calmed herself quickly, stealing some tissues from a box on Sam's tidy desk.

Then, wanting nothing more than to be near to Deeks again, she walked over to his desk and sat in his swivel chair. On the desk was a vast array of random items: pens, a digital clock (she wondered if he even knew how to read analog), an open bag of potato chips, a huge stack of paperwork, a finger skateboard, a Twinkie wrapper, this morning's coffee cup, various office supplies, and two small, framed pictures. One of the pictures was of Monty sitting on the beach.

The other was of her and Deeks.

It'd been taken recently, after their March basketball game against Callen and Sam. They'd lost badly, partly because Nell was on the opposing team, and partly because Eric was on their team. Kensi was holding the bright orange basketball, her face flushed red from the exhilarating game. Deeks's hair was mussed more than usual, but his grin was wider than ever, even if they'd lost. He looked so goofy that Kensi had to smile through her sorrow. He always seemed to do that to her.

Kensi looked back at the soft, inviting couch, but she decided she felt more comfortable in Deeks's chair. She fell asleep there, with no more funeral dreams haunting her.

Just over an hour later, Kensi awoke to the insistent ringing of her cell phone. It echoed in the empty building, startling her. She looked at the ID. The phone didn't recognize it, and instead displayed the words "restricted number". Uneasily, her heart beating with apprehension, Kensi pressed the "start call" button and held the phone to her ear. She didn't say hello, just waited for the other party to start the conversation.

"Mr. Callen," a deep, sinister male voice began on the other end. Kensi felt herself shiver. She didn't recognize the caller's tone. Why was he calling her Callen? He had to know that this was her number, right? She didn't dare not play along.

"Yes," she tried to keep her voice steady, but the late hour and the mysterious ID had her nervous. "Who is this? How did you get this number?"

"After a few hours with us, Mr. Wyler was quite willing to share it," the man responded. He didn't seem suspicious in the least of her not being Callen, even though it was clear that she was a woman.

Kensi felt like her heart went from sixty to zero in less than an instant. Wyler. The alias by which she had first known Deeks.

"What did you do to him?" she demanded, hot anger showing itself in her voice. She hoped it was enough to cover the fear and panic that had seized her.

"Enough to get this number, but not enough to kill him," was the man's reply. "That might not always be the case, however, if you don't cooperate."

"Release Wyler," Kensi commanded the drug dealer. She knew it was a ridiculous demand. The man's laughed proved it.

"But he's enjoying his stay," claimed the criminal sarcastically. "And we're not done with him yet."

"What're you calling me for?" Kensi asked harshly.

"From what we can tell, you and Mr. Wyler seem very close," the dealer explained. "We're calling to see how willing you are to get him back."

"What do you want for him?" Kensi said, even though she knew there would never be a price too high for her partner's life.

"We were thinking of something along the lines of a thirty thousand dollars," the dealer told the agent. "And perhaps to tell your police friend here to convince the authorities to leave us alone. That Naval officer was an unfortunate - but necessary - measure. He had no business with us. Perhaps he was a victim of bad timing, but we DID offer him the chance to leave and forget he had seen us. And we're offering that chance to your friend Officer Wyler by calling you. You pay us the cash and have Mr. Wyler get the police off our case, and this pleasant jester here might live."

Kensi soaked in the information. The high sum of cash hadn't even made her flinch. The fact that she would have to borrow a large amount of money to pay it hadn't crossed her mind. As long as they were setting a price, she was willing to pay. But she knew there were variables here. She needed to ask questions first.

"How do I know Wyler is still alive?" Kensi asked.

The man only hesitated a moment. "You'll just have to take our word that he's here and definitely not dead. On the contrary, he won't shut up." The man paused, unsure of whether the woman would believe him. "You _do_ want him back, don't you?"

Kensi didn't hesitate, either. "Yes."

"Then exchange the money for the prisoner in the lobby of the same hotel where we captured Officer Wyler. Be there exactly at 9:35 this morning. If you bring anyone - cop or otherwise - with you, we'll shoot both you and Officer Wyler. If we find the money isn't real, or if we find you haven't payed in full, we'll shoot you both. If you don't come at exactly 9:35, we'll shoot Wyler. And if you don't show...well, let's leave this last scenario for later, shall we? Do you understand, Mr. Callen? No police in this whatsoever. Do not even tell them of this call. We have eyes everywhere. We'll know in an instant if you've gone against our terms."

"Yes, I understand," she murmured. "And my name's not Callen."

It was like she could hear the man grinning on the other end. "I know that. Mr. Wyler might not."

With that, the call was over, leaving Kensi with a thousand questions. Why did the criminal man need Deeks to think that he was calling Callen? Was Deeks even alive? Should she tell Callen, Sam, and Hetty about the call? Kensi realized she had an answer to the last one. Authorities didn't cooperate with kidnappers, even if this might be their only chance to get Deeks back. _We have eyes everywhere_. The words haunted Kensi.

She'd just have to do this herself.


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey, everyone! I'm glad so many people are putting this on their story alerts! Thank you and I hope you like this chapter! **

It was seven thirty in the morning when Callen and Sam walked through the front door of the OSP. Kensi was pacing in the bullpen, and she looked (to put it bluntly) horrendous. She seemed wide awake and energized, but the bags under her eyes and her tangled hair told a different story.

"Kensi," Callen called. "Let's go check up with Eric and Nell."

"Finally," Kensi sighed and sprinted ahead of them, running up the staircase. Eric and Nell had arrived about an hour before, and neither of them had slept well, either.

But, bless their techie souls, they were working as fast and as thoroughly as they could. Eric had his spiel prepared for the team.

"We still haven't located the van," he began. "But we're searching. They must be taking secret routes. Nobody's phoned in a hit, anywhere."

Kensi felt her heart sink lower. In the four and a half hours since the call, she'd been playing out how this might work. She'd hoped that the analysts would've found something, could rescue Deeks before she had to. She felt horrible about this. Kensi knew that one of the most firm rules in her line of work was that they were not to cooperate with the criminals. If she took leave today, she would technically be a civilian, and on her down time, she could cooperate with criminals if she darn wanted to. But it still defied her agent instincts, doing things this way. "It's Deeks," she thought to herself. "He'd do the same thing for you. However much protocol you break, you just can't let him down."

Out loud, she said, "Keep looking," and then, after a pause, she added, "...You guys, last night was kind of rough for me. Do you think I could take a couple of hours off today?"

Callen and Sam prompted her to talk to Hetty about it, said they understood that she needed some time to get herself together. Kensi hated to lie to her teammates, who were practically her family, but she reminded herself once more: this is for another family member. It's tell the truth about the ransom call and hate yourself forever, or lie to Callen and Sam and get Deeks home, safe and sound.

Kensi quickly made her way to Hetty's office. The old but definitely not frail woman was sipping tea from her favorite cup. Seeing Kensi, she pulled out another and filled it with hot water, adding a tea bag as well. The dried leaves sent clouds of brown through the water, staining it. Hetty offered the cup to her agent.

"No thanks, Hetty," Kensi shook her head gently.

"Take it," Hetty urged. "It helps one relax."

Reluctant but knowing better than to doubt her wise boss, Kensi accepted the delicate, beautifully-painted cup and took a small sip of the tea. The appalling lack of sugar made it unattractive to her taste buds, but in a way, its warmth WAS rather soothing. She made herself relax, and glanced at her watch. In less than two hours, she'd either have Deeks back with her or he'd be gone. The relaxed feeling disappeared immediately.

"You're anxious about Mr. Deeks," Hetty said, not guessing.

"Isn't everyone?" Kensi shrugged.

"But you're his partner," said the older of the women softly. "This is very hard for you."

"I just hate that we haven't found anything yet," Kensi admitted, and her eyes blurred again. _"Dang it,"_ she thought, _"I can't really be crying this much. What am I, five?"_ She knew only Deeks, her beloved partner and friend, could reduce her to such frequent tears.

"We have our best people on this," Hetty said unnecessarily. Kensi knew. "I've heard that you wanted to take a short time off of duty?"

How did she hear that? Kensi had first expressed that desire all of two minutes ago. But, not being one to question Hetty, Kensi went along with it.

"Yes," she told her boss. "If that's okay. It's just, this has been tough, this whole ordeal."

Hetty looked at her with genuine understanding. "You're vital to this mission," she said. "We need you at your best to find Mr. Deeks. Go and rest up for a bit, but please come back within three hours. In cases like these, we need to spend every last minute wisely. They have one of our own."

Kensi nodded, took another draught of bitter tea, and thanked Hetty before walking out. As soon as she was out of the building, Hetty picked up her desk phone and dialed two numbers.

"Yes," she spoke into the receiver when Nell picked up on the other end. "Ms. Jones, please direct Mr. Callen and Mr. Hanna down to my office. Thank you."

A moment later, both agents approached Hetty's desk with curiosity.

"Did Kensi talk to you?" asked Callen.

"Indeed she did," Hetty replied. "I gave Ms. Blye a short time off. But..."

Callen finished the statement, "...You need Sam and I to keep track of her."

"Precisely," Hetty sipped her tea. Though it'd never show on the surface, she felt a bit afraid for Kensi. Deeks was important to her, and Hetty didn't doubt that she would break all sorts of rules if she needed to in order to get him back. "Keep a discreet distance, please. Do not approach Ms. Blye unless it's necessary."

"Got it," Callen replied, and Sam followed him out of the office. They got Kensi's location from Eric, then loaded into their car to follow her.

Meanwhile, Kensi headed for the bank. She had forms to fill out and requests to make.

An hour and a half later, Kensi pulled into the parking lot of the hotel building where she had been just yesterday. Had it only been that short a time? It'd been enough to wreck her world, make her worry and fret and ponder about what would happen if Deeks died. "Oh, gosh," she murmured aloud, letting a tear spill down her cheek. "Deeks could die. He could die today." She didn't even want to think of it. Even if she could never tell Deeks himself, she knew that she needed him in her life. Maybe the whole "thing" thing was confusing, but they could depend on each other as friends. Often, Kensi needed that support more than she wanted to admit. If she had never met him, she knew that by now she would be a wreck.

It only strengthened her resolve to save him.

The cash - some from the bank, some borrowed from friends, some found in her apartment, some from her mother - was in Kensi's biggest purse. She'd arranged it as neatly as she could, tried to make it easy to count. She checked her watch for the millionth time - 9:32. Her heart pounded. In three minutes, and three minutes exactly, she would leave the car and enter the hotel. Kensi carefully observed the parking lot around her. There were two or three old musty vehicles that should've been towed ages ago, but none of them were occupied. Nobody on the street seemed to be watching her.

She didn't think to look behind the fence that separated the hotel lot from the bakery next door.

A car sat there, with its two agents sitting in the back seat so as not to draw Kensi's attention. No driver, and she wouldn't be immediately suspicious. They felt intrusive to be keeping guard over her like this, but both Sam and Callen had to admit that she must be up to something to have returned so soon to the abandoned hotel. They didn't let their eyes wander from their fellow agent for a moment.

At 9:35 AM sharp, Kensi suddenly got out of her car and walked briskly to the hotel entrance. Pulling open one side of the double-doors, she stepped into the lobby.

At first, she saw nobody. But then she looked to her right, and there, in once was what a waiting area, there stood a few dark figures. Three of the dealers, menacing as the ones that Callen and Sam had captured yesterday. Deeks was not in sight.

"I came like you asked," Kensi said, stepping towards them. "Where's Wyler? I need to see him first of all."

"You may not see him yet!" one of the dealers growled furiously in an accent she couldn't quite place.

"Where. Is. Wyler?" Kensi demanded, wishing she'd been allowed to bring her gun as she advanced towards the shady figures. "I have your cash. Where is my friend?"

"You may not have him, because you didn't follow our instruction," another of the dealer's minions informed her.

"Yes I did!" Kensi insisted, desperate now but keeping her cool as best she could. "To the letter! Show me Wyler, right _now_!"

"You did not!" the minion argued. "We said no police! You brought police!"

"But I-" Kensi was interrupted.

"We made clear the consequences if you did not obey!"

Kensi blurted, "No!" just as a shot rang out from the floor above the lobby.

She burst into tears as she dropped her thirty-thousand-dollar purse. The next thing she knew, the dealer's henchmen were coming at her, saying something about Kensi working just as well as a hostage.

She began kicking and punching at them, using every bit of her training. The three were unconscious by the time that Callen and Sam rushed into the lobby, guns poised at the ready. They stopped when they saw the work had been done for them.

Kensi only stared at Callen and Sam in shock at first. Then she spoke, her voice an unbelieving whisper, "You followed me."

Then she was yelling.

"You _idiots_! The dealers saw you! They told me no authorities! You two just got my partner _killed_!" Kensi's voice caved as she sunk to the ground, her shoulders shaking with sobs. She repeated the line over and over. "You got Deeks killed. He's dead; they shot him."

Callen and Sam looked at each other for only a moment. There was no time to waste. They rushed down the hallway to the stairwell door, then up the stairs to the floor above them, where the gunshot had been heard. Even if Deeks really was dead, his murderer might still be up there. They had a duty to catch him.

Kensi only pulled Deeks's badge out of her purse from amidst the cash, held it close to her, and sat on the floor as she wept.


	5. Chapter 5

**Wow, guys, thank you for the reviews! Sorry about the shortness of the last chapter. This one isn't incredibly long, either, but it resolves the cliffhanger. If you still have questions about the ransom call and why the man kept calling Kensi by Callen's name, don't worry, that's resolved in Chapter Six. Enjoy!**

She was sitting in the too-sterile, too-quiet hospital waiting room, trying to imagine herself anyplace else. Kensi felt much too exposed in this wide room, with uncomfortable chairs and nowhere to hide. She still clutched the badge, and hadn't let go of it since the ugly scene at the abandoned hotel lobby. Not even when a spare paramedic had insisted on examining the cuts and bruises that Kensi hadn't realized she'd been dealt during her struggle with the dealer's henchmen. One hand always clutched Deeks's badge in its black casing. Her panicked mind had come to the unreasonable conclusion that she could not, under any circumstances, let go of that badge. Even now, hours later when she'd calmed down, Kensi couldn't put it down.

There were other people in the waiting room, which was to be expected. It was a major hospital in a densely populated city. But Kensi didn't make smalltalk with any of them. She had her eyes closed, and she was wishing that the circumstances were different. And if that wasn't possible, she at least wanted to see her partner and talk to him, know he was okay.

It was Sam's turn to check up on Kensi. She hadn't sustained any major injuries, and those few cuts had been bandaged. She just needed emotional support. Every hour, Callen, Nell, Eric, and Sam would take turns trying to get conversation out of her. She had been less than willing during each of their attempts. Five hours now she'd been sitting, almost comatose, in that waiting room chair.

"Hey," Sam said. Kensi only moved her eyes up to her fellow agent for a moment, and proceeded to remain silent.

"You angry?" he prodded. Kensi had given a meet hello to Eric and Nell, but had ignored Callen completely, and now it seemed that she would do the same to Sam.

"Silent treatment," Sam continued. "I see."

But he couldn't blame her, even if her accusation that Deeks's shooting had occurred because of he and Callen was less than fair. It was true that the henchmen had shot the LAPD liaison after seeing that Sam and Callen were present, but the two agents hadn't known that. They hadn't even known that Kensi had received a ransom call, or that she had intended to comply with their demands.

"_Still,"_ thought Sam. _"Kensi's waiting to hear if Deeks is going to live. Gotta cut her some slack."_

"Please leave," Kensi murmured.

"Nah," Sam sat in the vacant seat next to her. Kensi glared at him.

"Look, Callen and I were just doing our jobs," he began. His "cut her some slack" idea seemed to fly out the window. "We didn't know about that ransom. And we for sure didn't know you would cooperate with them. That's not what we do."

"I know," Kensi choked, her weary red eyes filled with remorse. "But...it's Deeks."

"We don't make exceptions, either."

"I know that, too," she swallowed hard. "I just...I couldn't let them take him like that. I know I shouldn't have complied."

"No, you shouldn't have."

Kensi looked at Sam pleadingly and asked with fear, "Then Sam...is it my fault that Deeks got shot?"

Sam didn't want to lie, but he saw how frail Kensi was, how fragile and shaken. Besides, the more he thought about the question, the more solidly he decided that it wasn't Kensi's fault. Ultimately, it was the drug dealers' minion who shot the detective, and who knows, maybe they'd planned to all along and Callen and Sam's presence had made no difference. And if Kensi hadn't gone to exchange the money for her partner, Sam felt confident that they would've killed Deeks just the same.

"No," Sam shook his head after a pause. "It's not your fault, Kensi."

Just then, Callen walked in and Kensi's eyes wandered to the bag that he held in his hands.

"That's Deeks's bag," she said, startled. "Where did you get it?"

"It was with the man who shot Deeks when we arrested him," Callen explained. "Here." Callen handed it to her and Kensi fingered the familiar messenger bag. It had a calming effect on her, like Hetty's tea.

"Thank you," she said softly.

"We'll leave you alone," Sam told her, following Callen out of the waiting room. Kensi gently opened Deeks's bag.

Inside were food wrappers and a lot of other trash, but also a flashlight, Deeks's car keys, his wallet, and - what was this, anyway? A squished muffin? Kensi allowed herself a smile. This was where he'd hidden that other chocolate pastry. She hadn't gotten a chance to check his bag yet before they'd entered the abandoned hotel, where Deeks had been captured. The muffin was beaten up and looked anything but appetizing. Poor Deeks. Not only had he been kidnapped by drug dealers, but he'd been kidnapped by drug dealers on an empty stomach. Kensi could almost hear him complaining.

She didn't look inside his wallet to find money, but mostly to see what kinds of pictures (if any) he kept in there. Here was another shot of Monty, unhappily wearing a dog-sized Santa hat. And here was one of him and Ray from a long time ago. And here was one...Kensi paused, unbelieving. This was a picture of her! Where was this taken? It looked like on the beach - but it didn't seem like California. Kensi thought hard. Romania? Yes, that was right: they'd been taking pictures in Romania earlier that year as they walked down the beach, working out their cover. It was from back when they were rescuing Hetty from the Comescus. Deeks had somehow gotten a print of one of those pictures. She had been smiling sarcastically and rolling her eyes.

Kensi wiped another tear away and replaced the wallet in Deeks's messenger bag. Suddenly a thought came to her - Monty! Was anybody taking care of him? She felt as if she should ask, but she didn't want to leave this waiting room in case Deeks woke up while she was gone. In the end, she asked Nell about it. Being a dog lover, Nell volunteered to walk and feed the mangy pooch, and went to go get a key to Deeks's apartment from Hetty.

Kensi, in the meantime, waited for any word on her partner.

Nell didn't have time to survey Deeks's small apartment before a medium-sized mutt almost knocked her over. Monty didn't even bother sniff the analyst, just whined and nudged his leash, which hung off a nail in the wall. Nell hooked the impatient dog into the leash and brought him outside. After Monty had relieved himself and run around for a bit, he realized how hungry he was, and led Nell back inside.

Nell fed the dog, and surveyed the roomy living/dining room she was standing in. It certainly wasn't the epitome of cleanliness, but it was tidier than her own apartment. A pad of yellow lined paper sat on the small dining table; the top page contained a short shopping list:

-Dog food

-Bacon

-Soy milk

-Hamburger meat

-Ho-Ho's for Kensi

Nell smiled at the last item. He really did think of his partner at all times, and the analyst counted Kensi lucky to have such a caring friend. She gave Monty a scratch behind the ears, and left again for the hospital, locking the door behind her.

Kensi had somehow managed to fall asleep in the uncomfortable chair. Slowly, the waiting room had emptied out, and now only a few relatives and friends of late night emergency room cases remained to occupy the other chairs. Deeks's bag and badge sat in Kensi's lap as she dozed in and out of consciousness.

Kensi was usually a very deep sleeper, but she was sure that people across the state could hear the wailing that began at about eleven PM.

At first, it was just unintelligible, medication-induced babble, shouted loud enough to wake Kensi up. The agent listened uneasily to the patient's yells and screams from behind a set of double doors, coming from one of the other rooms down the hall. She heard sobbing, angry cries, the like of which sent a shudder down her spine. Kensi hated hospitals - you didn't have to be a detective to figure out why.

Various doctors and nurses could be heard trying to calm whatever frantic patient was emitting the shouts, but their efforts were to no avail. Everyone in the waiting room was awake, listening in fear and worry, trying to discern if the one yelling was their loved one.

"Can I get some anesthetic?" Kensi heard a nurse yell.

"Coming," another hospital employee responded, and footsteps could be heard as the doctor rushed to comply.

But just before they were able to sedate the wailing patient, he started to form actual words. And Kensi could make them out. When she figured out what the patient was screaming, she swore her heart stopped beating in her chest.

It was Deeks.

And he was yelling her name.


	6. Chapter 6

**Thank you all so much for your reviews! Enjoy! **

"Kensi! Kensi!"

It stabbed at her heart to hear him yell like that.

"Kensi! Where are you? Kensi!"

Between crying her name, she heard Deeks sobbing and resisting the doctors as they tried to apply anesthetics.

"No!" he would shout, "No! Kensi, please, where are you?"

Kensi felt the eyes of all the other people in the waiting room on her. They all knew that they weren't the one the patient was calling for, and somehow they came to the conclusion that she must be Kensi. They gave her questioning looks, trying to read her expression.

The agent was no longer able to tolerate it all, and she broke down, weeping along with Deeks, who was only a set of doors and a hallway away from her. She couldn't go to him; they hadn't permitted it in the hours that Kensi had been sitting here. All she could do was cry with him.

"Please, no..." Deeks begged. "No! Where is Kensi? I need to see her! She's dead, isn't she? They killed her!" Kensi heard Deeks dissolve into heart-wrenching sobs. "They killed her! I knew it! Oh, gosh, they killed Kensi!"

She wanted to yell back, "Deeks, it's okay, I'm right here!", but knew she couldn't.

Kensi heard a doctor saying, "Patricia! Find this Kensi person, if she exists. Don't bring her in here, but at least confirm if she's alive. Anything to calm him down!"

A nurse, Patricia, responded, "Right!" and burst through the double doors, into the waiting room. Her scrubs were wrinkled and bags had formed under her eyes. She'd been working overtime as it was, and this frantic patient was the last thing she'd needed tonight. The poor man, though - injured all over, then shot on top of it. He was in the worst state of shock Patricia had ever seen in her time at the hospital. She just hoped that whoever this woman was that he was crying for, she would be willing to cooperate. If she didn't even exist, was a figment of the traumatized man's imagination, that was all the better. They could tell him anything about her and have it be true.

Kensi wasted no time in shooting up from her chair. Her legs, which had long since fallen asleep, wobbled at the sudden weight put upon them, but Kensi didn't care. She barely even felt it.

"I'm Kensi," she said. "Kensi Blye. Is Deeks all right?"

"Thank God," Patricia the nurse said a quick prayer of thanks. "That man in there - is he your husband? Brother? Boyfriend?"

"Partner," Kensi replied quickly. "We work together. How is he?"

"Horrible, I'll be honest," Patricia informed the red-eyed agent. "He's in major shock, but he's resisting the anesthetics. He just won't calm down; he keeps yelling for you, though I'm sure you could hear. Completely hysterical."

"Please, let me go in," Kensi asked. "He needs to see me. You heard him - he thinks I'm dead!"

Patricia was reluctant, but in the end shook her head. "I'm sorry. Mr. Deeks is just too out of control to let you see him. I'll tell him you're okay, but you'll have to wait until he's calmed down to visit."

"Kensi! Kensi!" Deeks sobbed, his voice raspy. "No - stop! I can't take those! I need to see Kensi! Where is she? Let me see her!"

"I have to go," Patricia said. "Please wait here, Ms. Blye. We'll call you in once's he's more stable, when he's had more rest. Why don't you go home for a bit? You look very tired."

In truth, Kensi was exhausted. She'd barely slept at all these past two days. But there wasn't a fatigue too great to ever keep her from her partner. He'd always been there right when she needed him, and now, he needed her to do the same thing.

"Where are you? Kensi, please!"

In a split second, Kensi had made her decision. Brushing past a surprised Patricia, she pushed open the double doors and stood for a moment in the hallway. It only took another panicked shout of, "Kensi!" for her to discern which of the curtained segments that Deeks was in. Two beds down to the right, she drew aside an ugly teal curtain and took in the scene.

It wasn't a very large area. There was a small table full of medicines, a clipboard, and a couple of syringes. A monitor measured Deeks's heart rate, which was more rapid than Kensi had ever seen in a person. Two doctors and a nurse were also in the area. One was clutching Deeks's shoulder firmly, while another was trying to administer an anesthetic via Deeks's intravenous fluid. The nurse held Deeks's ankles down in a vain attempt to keep his thrashing down. Deeks was much stronger than the scrawny nurse and struggled with all his energy.

Deeks's appearance itself drew a gasp from Kensi. He had a bandage across his head, another around his left forearm, and numerous dark bruises on his face and shoulders. Eeriest was the bullet wound, bleeding dark red through its wrappings just south of his right elbow. It was a flesh wound, but a nasty one. And perhaps most haunting of all was the expression on his face. There were tear streaks on his cheeks, and his wild, searching eyes were swollen and wet. His white, loose, short-sleeved hospital shirt was sweaty, and the veins on his neck throbbed from the effort of trying to break free.

But once he saw Kensi, the storm lulled.

He didn't even say anything, but everyone in the room saw him visibly relax. Deeks immediately stopped straining against the hospital employees, much to the said employees' relief. His heart rate quickly slowed to just above normal, and the doctor successfully released the anesthetic into the IV without the patient thrashing around.

Kensi didn't say anything, either. He looked so beaten up and in pain, but he was still alive, which was all she needed to know. She walked quickly to his bedside.

Deeks pulled her into a tight hug, as if he didn't quite believe she was there. He held one hand on the back of her head and another just below her shoulder blades. A last tear trickled down his cheek and onto her shirt. Kensi hugged him back, feeling his heartbeats steadily become more calmed.

"They...they told me they'd kill you," he whispered, voice hoarse and shaky. "They said they caught you, too."

"No, Deeks," Kensi murmured back. "They never got me."

Deeks relaxed further, and Kensi realized that the anesthetics must be kicking in.

"You're going to go to sleep now, all right?" she told him soothingly.

"No!" Deeks suddenly snapped back to his panic. "I can't! They'll take you if I'm not here to protect you!"

"Deeks, you're in shock," she tried to explain, pulling gently out of their embrace and helping lower his head onto the pillow. "You need some sleep. Just relax, okay? I promise I'll still be safe."

"No," he protested again, quieter and quieter as the medicines did their work. "Please, they'll catch you...they'll hurt you, just like they said they had..."

"Shh," she whispered. "It's okay."

But clearly he was not satisfied. He looked pleadingly at her, and Kensi knew that he was out of his right mind, truly believed that his partner was unsafe.

"Tell you what," Kensi promised. "How about I sit right here-" she pulled up a chair from the corner, dragging it to his bedside and planting herself in it, "-and stay here with you. That way you can protect me, all right? Is that okay?"

Deeks gave a sleepy nod, and let his arm slip off the bed. He winced at the sharp pain that the gunshot wound caused. As carefully as she could, Kensi took his beaten hand in one of her own. Deeks squeezed it weakly, beginning to fall into sleep. Kensi squeezed back, just to remind him that she was there.

"Good night, Deeks," she whispered softly.

"They won't get you," Deeks mumbled, half dreaming and half awake. "Not while I'm still here..."

"No," Kensi smiled a little bit at his nonsensical ramblings. "They won't, because you're here to protect me."

"Always will be," he gave a quiet snore, his voice barely audible. "Have to protect Fern..."

Kensi looked at the doctors and the nurse.

"We can't let you stay here all night," one of the cross, sleepless doctors said. "Hospital rules."

"Dr. Warner, he'll probably just go right into another panic if he wakes up and she's gone," the nurse urged. "Maybe we should let her stay, just this once. We can't have him shouting and waking up the whole hospital."

Reluctantly, the doctor nodded his consent and left to tend to other patients, as did the other doctor and, eventually, the nurse, who informed Kensi to call immediately if something happened with Deeks.

"Would you like some food?" she asked Kensi. The agent fervently agreed - hospital food was better than no food at this point.

Saving the Jell-O cup for Deeks, Kensi ate the cafeteria meal she was brought and slowly fell asleep in the chair. Just before she nodded off, she found Deeks's hand again, clasped it in hers, and let herself slip into slumber.

At an early hour of the morning, the sky an pre-dawn grey, Deeks woke up. Before he felt the pain, he felt his partner holding his hand. It took a moment for him to remember where he was. A hospital? Deeks didn't remember ever coming to a hospital. He could only recall that bust at the hospital, throwing open the door...shooting two of the henchmen before another hit him on the head from behind. After that, it was traveling to secret locations, being roughed up and thrown into the back of some smelly van.

How on earth had he ended up back at that abandoned hotel? He tried to recollect what had led the drug dealers to bring him there. A phone call with Callen demanding some hefty ransom that Deeks was sure he wasn't worth...and Kensi - oh, no, they'd gotten her, too! Panic seized the injured detective for a moment, but he brought himself together and looked to his right. There she was, unharmed spare for a couple of cuts and bruises, and holding his hand, too. They hadn't ever captured Kensi. They must have just told him that to make him more cooperative.

"_Where is she? Let her go!"_

"_And why would we ever do that? She's such a pleasant guest."_

"_I said let her go! Keep me; I don't care, but don't drag her into this!"_

"_Maybe if you'd give us a way to contact your team, we'd treat her a little better."_

"_I can't do that - Kensi! Kensi, if you can here me, yell back!"_

"_I'm afraid your shouting won't translate well for your girlfriend, Mr. Wyler. Garret, Jackson, gag him. Kenston, Maurice, see to Mr. Wyler's lady friend."_

"_No!"_

Deeks shook his head, trying to rid himself of the horrible memories, but it only made him moan with the pain of the cut on his scalp.

How had he managed to be rescued? Surely his team hadn't actually thought of paying the ransom; it was in their rules not to cooperate with the bad guys. Looking to his partner, Deeks thought, _"Well, however they did it, it worked."_

Kensi shivered in her sleep. Deeks smiled. She did look so peaceful when she wasn't awake stealing his food and punching him in the arm. Actually, he would've been glad to see her if she was about to cut a hole in his chest with a knife. Anything was preferable to the illusion that Deeks had been under during his short time as a captive.

"_Let me see Kensi, right now!"_

"_I'm afraid that will prove rather difficult, Mr. Wyler. You see, you didn't give us what we asked for. And you know that we gave you several warnings."_

"_What did you to do her? I need to see Kensi!" He told the criminals the same thing he'd told Harris just before he and Kensi were both shot by a sniper, "If you hurt her at all, you're going to regret it until the day you die - and that won't be far off."_

_The man only laughed. "I wouldn't worry, Mr. Wyler. She won't suffer any more."_

_Deeks, his legs and arms bound securely to his chair, could only scream. _

Looking at the woman sitting at his bedside, Deeks sighed, closing his eyes. They'd told him so many lies, kept him under such false beliefs, but here she was, in near perfect health. He hadn't even imagined this possibility. They'd done such a good job convincing Deeks that Kensi was gone.

How he'd yelled and fought them for hours - Deeks thought they might kill him just to shut him up, but he didn't care. He'd cried, he'd shouted, he'd struggled against his bonds until the skin on his wrists and ankles was raw. Anything to show them that he wouldn't take this quietly. You'd mess with Kensi, and you'd mess with Deeks also. Even when his voice started to give in and his throat was dry as a California summer, he couldn't stop.

Then they'd started to hurt him.

Still, he didn't give in. He forced himself to stay strong to the end. Everything in Deeks's mind screamed at him to give up the information that the drug dealer and his henchmen wanted - contact info for his team or his loved ones. They wanted to ransom him, Deeks knew.

"_Give us a phone number," the man wasn't asking. _

"_You want a phone number? Fine, here's one," Deeks spat, his voice raspy. If they'd really killed his partner, she wasn't going to answer her phone._

_He gave them Kensi's number._

"_Talk to Agent Callen - he'll just use this to find our location," Deeks informed the man confidently. "You won't get a thing from them."_

_He'd felt so sure that nobody would answer. It really was Kensi's phone number he'd given them, and since they claimed to had killed her..._

_But someone did answer. It seemed like the man was talking to Callen himself. Deeks rued his decision. Kensi must've dropped her phone, left it behind when she'd been captured, somewhere that Sam and Callen could've found it._

_He hadn't known Kensi was sitting alive and well at his desk, missing him._

Deeks looked at his sleeping partner for a long time. It'd been her who had answered her phone, taken the ransom call that was disguised as a call to Callen. He rubbed his thumb over the back of her warm hand gently. Just a few hours ago, Deeks had been certain he would never have the chance to hold her hand like this.

Kensi shivered again, and Deeks became aware of the goosebumps on her arms. He peeled the top sheet off of his bed and made the painful effort to sit up and drape it around Kensi's shoulders. Laying back down, he made himself comfortable as he could with his one remaining sheet, and, still holding her hand though it hurt his injured arm, fell back asleep.

Knowing she was safe, that she was right there next to him, Deeks slept better than he ever had before.


	7. Chapter 7

**I am so glad you guys are enjoying this! This is the second-to-last chapter; working on tweaking the ending a bit. I hadn't anticipated this chapter, but I had to do something to resolve the issue of Deeks's captors, which ones escaped (since obviously they weren't all at the hotel), and where they fled to. **

**Note: I just noticed a couple of typos in the last chapter...sorry about that. I'm not particularly good at finding them if the computer doesn't recognize a spelling error. XD Enjoy!**

"Don't worry, everyone, your fears are at rest! Marty Deeks is back in the building!"

A few of the busy bees in the OSP actually stopped to clap for him, which was more than Deeks had expected. He'd doubted anyone but his own team had even noticed he'd been gone for a few weeks.

There were Callen and Sam, a short distance from the bullpen, bickering friendlily over something trivial. Deeks grinned. He'd so missed the little things like that, the quirks that had made up his work life for the past two and a half years. Upon the detective's bold declaration, they stopped their arguing to turn and look at him, wobbly on his new crutches. They joined the small burst of applause - even Sam. Deeks felt himself gaping.

His arm had healed up quite nicely from the shooting, even though it was still very sore and hadn't yet faded to a scar. Deeks decided he would take what he could get, considering the shot was originally intended to be to the head - before Deeks had bucked the chair he was tied to, resulting in the henchman missing his mark. The wound was still wrapped in sterile white bandages. The crutches required Deeks to work his injured right arm far more than he would've cared to, but they were a necessary measure due to how much he'd messed up his knees. Between struggling against the drug dealers' bonds for hours on end and thrashing around when he was in shock, he'd done a fair bit of damage to them. "But don't be concerned," the doctor had said. "They should heal up soon. Until then, you'll need some crutches."

Deeks felt utterly ridiculous, hobbling around on these glorified broomsticks. But he wasn't a doctor, so who was he to judge what was best for his health? The man ate frozen dinners and take-out seven nights a week.

It did feel _so_ good to finally be out of that blasted hospital. He'd proudly traded in his white, standard-issue patient garbs for his own, not-entirely-clean clothes. Deeks found he'd missed his plaid shirts, and was wearing his favorite green one today in celebration of his coming back to work.

Nell and Eric appeared at the top of the staircase, also congratulating him on his return. Eric, in place of his whistle, blew on a party blower, emitting a duck-like sound. Nell laughed.

As much as Deeks appreciated his co-workers' support, he was only looking for one person in particular. He hadn't even told her he'd be coming back today, had wanted to surprise her. His eyes scanned the first floor area as he worked helplessly on his crutches toward the bullpen.

Then he saw her, all at once, coffee in hand and a priceless expression on her face. With a surprised call of, "Deeks!" she started running towards him, shoving her latte at a random intern that she passed.

And then she was hugging him, her arms around her neck. Deeks laughed, wanting to return the hug but facing a slight dilemma.

"Okay, Kens, here's what we're going to do," he instructed, that goofy smile still on his face. "I'm going to lean on you and you're not going to complain about how much I weigh."

Slowly he shifted the support to his knees until they refused to take any more, then leaned the rest on Kensi's shoulders as he lifted his crutches and crossed them behind her back in the weirdest hug anyone in the OSP had seen. Kensi didn't utter a single word of complaint, just laughed, and Deeks even felt a tear drop onto the resistant fabric of his leather jacket.

"Hey, now," Deeks said comfortingly. "When did crying become a regular thing for you? It's not like I'm gonna die on you right here!"

"Don't joke about it," Kensi replied strictly, sniffing. "It wasn't funny. It was heck for me, too, you know."

"Yeah, yeah," Deeks felt his smile broadening. "Ouch. Sorry, Kensi, but I can't blow out my knees on my first day back."

Worriedly, Kensi quickly pulled away and Deeks returned his crutches to their rightful place under his arms. He winced, but tried not to show it.

"Are you sure you should be back?" Kensi asked.

"What? Of course!" Deeks assured her. "Besides, you can try, but I won't go back to that hospital. No way. Even if you get my Jell-O with every meal."

"What do mean, if I get your Jell-O with every meal?" Kensi demanded.

"Well, considering you ate mine every time you visited me - which was, let's see, every day."

"Not true! I saved you a cup once!"

"Yeah, the morning after I got shot. But I appreciate that you refrained from eating it."

Hetty magically appeared on-scene. "Mr. Deeks," she said pleasantly. "Good to see you've returned to work. We were beginning to wonder if we needed to buy you a second desk."

Deeks scrunched his forehead, confused. "Second desk? What do you mean?"

Kensi snickered, her old familiar snicker, just like before. "Come on, Deeks," she urged. "Why don't you go see?"

Kensi helped her partner hobble unsteadily into the bullpen, where he nearly dropped his crutches at the sight.

"Oh, you've got to be kidding," he groaned. "I was on sick leave!"

His desk was piled high with folders, envelopes, and small boxes stuffed with forms and paperwork. Hetty, that mischievous, mysterious smile on her face, handed the gawking detective a small, wrapped present about the size of a Twinkie. Deeks warily unwrapped the gift, and Kensi started to roar with laughter when she saw what it was. Callen and Sam chuckled in the background.

"Those are brand-new pens, Mr. Deeks - you might need them."

"Can't I just tag along?" Deeks pleaded about an hour later. "Come on, Kensi. You know working this case wouldn't be the same without me there." He gazed down at her, puppy-eyed.

Kensi began to refuse, but Sam butted in, saying, "Better let him come. He's just gonna keep complaining."

Kensi sighed her exasperated consent. "All right," she agreed. "It's not a big case anyway, just an ex-marine who's gotten a Naval enlisted buddy of his involved in some shady business. Deeks, you can come, but you've got to stay in the car, got it?"

"Got it," Deeks vowed, glad that he'd won out. "Let's go! I haven't been on a case in, like, forever."

"Two things," Kensi reminded him as they walked out of their work building and to Kensi's car. "One, you're not 'on a case'. You're accompanying me. And two, don't forget that the last case you went on, you were nearly killed, so don't do anything stupid."

"Naturally, Fern."

"Get in the car, Deeks. And don't call me Fern, or I'll put you back in the hospital."

"And to think that an hour ago, you were so sentimental over seeing me hobbling around!"

Kensi blushed, the tips of her ears turning bright red. Deeks laughed as he slowly and carefully got into the passenger seat.

"You're not going to mention that," Kensi commanded him. "Nobody has to know."

"Oh, I think the entire first floor of OSP saw you cry, Kensi," Deeks teased. "Not an image they'll forget, either. The indestructible Kensi Blye, crying on her partner's shoulder."

Kensi snorted as she revved the engine and pulled out of her parking space.

"Admit it," Deeks persisted, that old happy-go-lucky bounce in his voice. "Work just wasn't the same without me."

Kensi didn't respond at first because it was true; she'd visited her partner every day after work, but her job was much less perky, enjoyable, or just _fun_ without Deeks around. Of course, she'd never hear the end of it if she admitted that to Deeks himself. She had a feeling Callen and Sam already knew, had probably seen her wander over to the other side of the bullpen and sit at Deeks's desk when she thought she was alone. Oftentimes in the past week, Kensi had taken that picture of her and Deeks after the basketball game and had held it in her hands, waiting for when they'd be work partners again. Once, after a particularly long day, Kensi had even fallen asleep in Deeks's office chair, just like on the night of his capture. She woke up a half hour later, relieved to see that she was alone, but she could never shake the feeling that people had seen her sleeping there.

Out loud to Deeks, Kensi couldn't say any of that. "Well," she replied instead. "It was a little odd not to be poked fun at or annoyed constantly throughout my day." Deeks obviously wasn't buying it, judging from the way he raised his eyebrows at her, so she reluctantly admitted, "I guess I maybe missed you a bit. Kind of."

"I'll take that as a compliment," Deeks beamed triumphantly. "Considering in Kensi-speak, that's like saying, 'I thought I was going to die if you didn't come back to work soon.'"

"It is not!" Kensi argued, but Deeks waved a dismissing hand, having already won. Kensi turned a corner a little sharper than she normally would've.

"Ow!" Deeks complained as the force pushed him against the car door. "If I didn't know better, I'd say that was payback."

"It was just your imagination."

There was a long silence in the car, during which Kensi kept her eyes focused on the road for once, and Deeks gazed contemplatively out his window (another first). After what seemed like a very long time, he spoke.

"It's okay to admit you missed me. I missed working with you, too."

"Really?" Kensi narrowed her eyes as she changed lanes. "Did you?"

"Of course," Deeks seemed surprised that she didn't know.

"Probably just kinda-sorta, though."

"Nope. Not even kinda-sorta. I just missed you - a lot."

"Come off it, Deeks; you saw me every day at the hospital."

"Yeah, but it's not the same. Dang it, Kensi, can't you just accept that I really missed you and leave it at that?"

Kensi found herself laughing, to her own surprise. Deeks looked shyly at her for a moment, then added, "And don't think I didn't notice that you held my hand that first night."

Deeks saw Kensi stiffen in the driver's seat, and her hands clenched the steering wheel a little harder.

"Yeah, well, you were in shock," Kensi explained. "Seriously. You were terrible. Shouting loud enough to wake the city."

"Oh, really?" Deeks looked interested, then wary. "What kind of things did I say to you?"

"Why do you ask?" Kensi countered; this time she was the teasing one. "Anything you don't want to slip?"

"Don't be ridiculous," Deeks said much too quickly. "Hey, look, we're here."

"How convenient for you," Kensi said, stopping the car. "Callen's and Sam's car is already parked where they said it would be. I'll go meet them at the rendezvous spot inside the building. Deeks, stay."

"Yes, master," Deeks replied obediently, not unbuckling his seatbelt. "Careful in there. Your raw emotions from my tragic kidnapping ordeal might throw you off your guard."

"You wish," Kensi rolled her eyes, shutting the door behind her as she got out of the car. "I shouldn't be too long. Don't call attention to our vehicle."

"Aye-aye!" Deeks saluted, and Kensi looked at him for another moment before turning and jogging up the sidewalk. She pulled open the door to the old, rickety building where Callen and Sam were waiting - as well as the criminals they hoped to catch.

Deeks had been sitting in the car for fifteen minutes when he began to get fidgety. He hated this feeling of uselessness. For the millionth time, he glanced over at the crumbly old apartment complex where the mission was taking place. However, this time, something moving at one of the windows caught his eye.

He had to admit, he'd been a bit paranoid since his shooting at the abandoned hotel. All four henchmen that had made an appearance at the supposed money-for-hostage exchange had been captured, not to mention the three that had been found standing guard at various points around the surrounding area. But the lead drug dealer himself had not been present, and he along with four of his men were still at large for both the earlier murder of the Naval officer, and for the kidnapping of Deeks.

So when Deeks saw the dealer's scarred face in that apartment building window, he swore his paranoid brain was just imagining it.

But if it was an illusion, it was a very convincing one. The man moved about in the view of the window, and drew the blinds closed. Deeks's eyes widened. He'd been hiding out here, with fellow criminals - it made perfect sense. This was an LA suburb, not LA itself. It was far enough from the site of that old hotel.

Deeks's first thought was, _"That guy is going to kill me if he sees me out here."_ His second thought, a much more urgent one, was, _"Kensi's in that building!"_ Deeks weighed that the drug lord would be pretty ticked at Kensi and the rest of the team for their arresting of his henchmen. If he or one of his remaining minions had the opportunity to point a gun at Kensi, Sam, or Callen, Deeks couldn't imagine the criminals hesitating to pull the trigger. Worst of all, Deeks's team didn't even know the drug dealer and his men were there. They'd be caught off-guard.

"Hang on, guys," Deeks murmured aloud, opening the car door and reaching to his belt for his gun. It was gone. He wasn't needed for actual cop work on this case, and it hadn't yet been returned to him. Deeks cursed.

"A weapon; I need a weapon," his eyes searched the car.

He dug through the glove compartment and felt under the seats. Nothing even remotely harmful. He found a first-aid kit. "Oh, great," he muttered. "So I can maim them and then patch them up. That's perfect. And how am I supposed to get there fast enough on these stupid crutches? I-"

Deeks stopped mid-sentence. His stupid crutches just might be the key.

"Two down! Clear!" Kensi yelled. Callen and Sam emerged from around the corner.

"Take the first room on the right, Kensi," instructed Callen. The junior agent nodded and kicked open the door. Callen and Sam took the door further up the opposite side of the hallway.

They didn't think that the criminals were camping out on this floor; according to reports from locals, lights had been seen turned on in a room one floor above the agents' current location. But they first needed to clear this floor before moving on. They'd come up from the staircase at the left end of the building. There was one more stairwell on the other side, about two doors down; they could travel to the third floor from there.

"Clear!" Kensi radioed. She got no response, and felt a chill like the one she'd had when Deeks had taken too long to radio his reply. He'd ended up kidnapped.

"Callen, Sam, are you clear in there?" she whispered, exiting the room and moving as quietly as she could up the hallway.

"No, I'm afraid they're not," came an eerily familiar voice. Kensi recognized it right away as the voice of the man who had made Deeks's ransom call.

The sinister drug lord himself stepped out into the hallway, accompanied by four more of his husky men. All of them had guns, and two of them held Sam and Callens' arms behind their backs. The other two had their guns pointed at Kensi.

"Drop your weapon, agent," the drug dealer flashed a toothy grin. "I believe we have you just where we want you."

With no other choice, Kensi murmured a painful, "I'm sorry, guys," and slowly placed her gun on the floor.

"You and your team have caused me much aggravation recently," the drug dealer began. "You had a good portion of my men imprisoned and forced me to leave my area of work. Do you know how long it will take to re-establish my business?"

"Long, especially once you're through serving a few life sentences for the Navy officer's murder and my partner's kidnapping," Kensi spat angrily.

The man chuckled. "Bitter to the end. You and your friend Wyler are really so much alike." His expression turned serious as he looked to his men.

"Shoot her."

Kensi refused to close her eyes as she stared down the barrels of both guns, waiting to see who would shoot first. She didn't have the chance, as a sickening crack came from behind the bulky henchmen. One fell, then the other before he had a chance to react. In the blink of an eye, Callen and Sam made their move and landed kicks to their captors, setting them free.

One last crack sent the drug dealer himself sprawling to the ground, out cold. Deeks stood behind him, holding one of his crutches in the air and leaning all his weight on the other.

"And that," he said, speaking to the unconscious drug lord and kidnapper. "Is what happens to you when you mess with my partner."

Kensi looked up at Deeks, shocked. He grinned that jester smile of his.

"I've really wanted to do that for a while now," he informed his team. "It didn't sound too cheesy, did it?"


	8. Chapter 8

**Yay! Here's the last chapter. Sorry it's so short; there wasn't really a lot left that I could find to tie up. I hope you enjoy it! After this series, I plan to do a few shorter stories before the next longer one. Thank you all so much for your reviews of my first fan-fiction! This was a lot of fun and I hope to continue. :D **

**Thanks for reading! ~V.**

"Are you going to carry those things around from now on?" Callen asked, looking at Deeks. The detective was walking around without the help of the crutches now, his knees almost fully healed. But he still held one of his crutches in his left hand.

"Heck yeah," Deeks replied. "This thing saved all of your lives a couple of weeks ago, need I remind you?"

"Yes, but you _do_ have a gun, Deeks," Callen reminded him. "I think it's much more efficient than a crutch."

"Whatever, but I'm keeping it in the trunk, just in case," Deeks said, leaning the support object against his desk. Sam walked into the bullpen.

"Those stacks of paperwork are still almost as tall as you, Deeks," Sam pointed out. "Gonna get on that sometime?"

"I have been," Deeks said assuredly. "But as soon as I finish with one stack, more comes in. I'm never letting this happen again."

"You mean you're never going to go on sick leave again?" Callen asked. "Good luck with that, Deeks. This stuff happens."

"Man, I don't care if I get shot," Deeks snorted. "I'll come in here bleeding out from a head wound, just as long as I don't have to deal with this much paperwork at once. Seriously, where do they find all this stuff?"

"Beats me," Callen scowled at his own desk, which was littered with mission reports that needed to be filled out. "Maybe Kensi can help you with your paperwork."

"Where IS Kensi, anyway?" Deeks asked, realizing her absence. "This is the woman who complains when I sleep in."

Just then, Kensi herself walked through the door of the OSP and strode briskly towards the bullpen. She stopped short, glancing nervously at the precarious mountains of forms on Deeks's desk.

"That looks...unstable," she commented, giving the desk a wide berth as she walked to her own.

"There you are," Deeks said. "I wanted to know if you can help with my paperwork."

"Nope," Kensi replied, sitting down. "Sorry, pal."

"You'll risk your life for me but you won't help me fill out some simple forms? Nice. Where were you, anyway?"

"Just making a quick stop," Kensi answered casually, then pulled a brown paper bag out of her backpack. The bag was printed with a familiar bakery logo. "Hey, Deeks - catch."

She tossed the bag up and over the stacks of paperwork, and Deeks caught it. Upon opening it, he exclaimed, "Whoa! A chocolate muffin! One of those _awesome_ chocolate muffins!" He stopped, narrowed his eyes, and asked, "What'd I do this time? You're just giving me this so I don't see it coming when you kill me."

"Don't be stupid, Deeks," Kensi scoffed. "You never got to eat the squashed one in your messenger bag, so I'm repaying you."

Deeks stood up and looked at his partner for a long time. Was she just imagining it, or was he blushing a little?

"You, um, went through my bag? When?"

"When you got shot and I was in the waiting room."

"Um...What else did you happen to see in there?"

"Is there something I should know about?" Callen asked.

"Nope!" Deeks replied. "Never. Course not. I just...was curious."

"Uh-huh," Sam obviously didn't buy it, either, but they all let the matter drop.

Later that day, they all packed up to go home.

"Drinks, anyone?" Callen offered.

"Sounds good," Sam answered. "Kensi? Deeks?"

"Nah," Deeks shook his head. "Thanks, though." Kensi declined as well, and the two male agents left.

As Kensi was preparing to go, Deeks put a hand on her shoulder from behind her. She turned around.

"Uh," Deeks looked embarrassed. "Did you really...see anything else in my bag?"

Kensi smiled as she thought back on that picture of her in his wallet, the one from the Romanian beach. In response, she leaned forward and kissed his scruffy cheek. Deeks's eyes widened.

"That was nice," he commented.

"Yeah, well, don't get used to it."

"So I guess you found that picture?"

"I did. It's nice to know you think of me off-duty."

"Why? Do _you_ think of _me_ off-duty? Is there a picture of me in _your_ wallet?"

Kensi laughed, and shook her head. "Sorry, buddy. Not so."

"That hurts, Fern," Deeks pouted. "And after everything we've been through...come on. You must think of me a little bit, at least."

"Don't flatter yourself, shaggy boy," Kensi rolled her eyes, and turned to walk out of the bullpen.

She'd never tell him about that photo of them in the basketball court, the one Deeks had a copy of on his desk. The one of which she also had a print, one small enough to fit in her wallet. The one that was tucked neatly behind her driver's license, for those times off-duty when she just needed to see his face.

So Kensi was talking mostly to herself when she softly murmured, "Maybe just a little."

But behind her, Deeks had heard, and he was grinning.

It was indescribably nice to have a partner who cared about him, even if she didn't help him with his paperwork. What mattered was that, if it was within her ability to do so, she would be there for him, holding his hand.

**The End**


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